The Gilded Rose
by HarmoniousPie
Summary: Sequel to The Violet Rose. Draco and Ginny have started their relationship but with Draco getting mysterious letter from a Death Eater inside Hogwarts can it survive. Will cover 6thGinny only 7th 1st&2nd years out of Hogwarts. GD HHR RLNT SBOC OCOC


Here it is! The Gilded Rose. This is going to be quite long because it covers Harry, Hermione, and Draco's 7th year to their second year out of school and Ginny's 6th, 7th, and first year out of school. As most of you know I just finished The Violet Rose (if you haven't read it go read it because there will be references back to it) and now I'm starting The Gilded Rose.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Plain and simple.**

The prologue is just a bit of background of my version of the Hufflepuff/Slytherin relationship which we were given a somewhat brief glimpse into in The Violet Rose (so go read it of you haven't already!). It's mainly scenes between Helga and Salazaar but read it because there will be similar scenes between Ginny and Draco in the following chapter. There are some scenes between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw but for the most part its Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

Okay now on with the story which I hope you will enjoy!

Prologue: Hufflepuff and Slytherin's relationship.

Everyone who has heard of the Founder's Roses knows of the Violet Rose. But very few know of the Gilded Rose. This was the rose that would have been formed from Helga Hufflepuff's and Salazaar Slytherin's roses had their relationship worked out. Here follows the true story of Helga and Salazaar.

A blonde teen walked down a stone corridor deep in thought. Her name was Helga Hufflepuff. She didn't notice a young man walking up the same corridor. If she had she would've turned onto another corridor. This young man was Salazaar Slytherin.

"Hey badger face!" he called spotting Helga.

Her head snapped to attention, her train of thought lost.

"Slytherin." She replied.

"Don't think badger face is funny anymore?"

"I never have. Only you think it's funny. The rest of us think it's like you: cold and cruel."

"The rest of us? . . . . Ah! Oh-so-brave Godric and oh-so-smart Rowena and you, badger face."

"Yes."

"You realize that eventually those two will fall in love and get married and you'll be nothing but the third wheel. Then you'll wish that you had been my friend."

"I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Goodbye."

As she rushed by him her skirts rustled loudly.

2 years later. . . . . . . . . .

Helga put on a gold silk dress that had a square neckline trimmed with black velvet. Her sleeves also had black velvet on them in a criss-cross pattern. The skirt opened onto a piece of black silk that was embroidered with gold vines and leaves.

"Helga, you look beautiful." said Rowena Ravenclaw.

"Thank you Rowena. You look wonderful."

Rowena's dress was deep blue silk with a high neck and trimmed in lace.

"Thank you. We should head down and meet the others."

Who the others were they didn't know. Today was a special occasion not only did they graduate but they would graduate with high honors. Every year two to eight of the graduates would receive 'mage status'. Rowena and Helga were two of this year's students. They did not know how many or who the others were. They met the headmaster Jonathan Hansen in the foyer of the castle.

"Ladies, you look beautiful." He said.

"Thank you Headmaster Hansen." They said.

"Gentlemen!" he called, "Welcome, Welcome!"

Helga and Rowena turned around. Standing there in formal dress were Godric Gryffindor and Salazaar Slytherin.

"You four are this year's mage students. Godric, you are a Bravery Mage, and Rowena, you are a Knowledge Mage. Helga, you are a Loyalty Mage, and Salazaar, you are a Darkness Mage."

At the ceremony. . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Now, it is time to introduce this year's high honors graduates. This year there are four of them. Firstly, Lord Godric Gryffindor, Bravery Mage, and Lady Rowena Ravenclaw, Knowledge Mage. Secondly, Lord Salazaar Slytherin, Darkness Mage, and Lady Helga Hufflepuff, Loyalty Mage.

"You look nice." said Salazaar as he escorted Helga up the aisle to the stage.

"Thank you. You look very handsome."

"Thank you. I want to apologize for how I've treated you these last few years."

"I forgive you."

After the ceremony. . . . . . . . . . . . .

After the ceremony Helga watched as Lord Francis Donovan proposed to Rowena and Godric proposed marriage to Lady Melissa Everhardt, daughter of Duke Roland Everhardt. Both women said yes. Later Rowena came up to Helga.

"Congratulations. Francis truly loves you."

"Thank you. Will you stand by my side at the wedding?"

"Of course I will."

"Who else has proposed or been proposed to?"

"Everyone. Except for Salazaar and myself."

"You'll get there someday."

"No. I don't see wedding bells in my future."

"What do you see?"

"A school for young witches and wizards, a surprising love, a fight, and then darkness."

"Darkness?"

"Yes. I can't see anything after the fight."

"I'm sure you're seeing things wrong."

Six months later Helga stood by Rowena's side as she said her marriage vows to Francis. Just after that Helga entered Avila University for Mages. There she became friends with the last person people would have expected her to be friends with: Salazaar Slytherin. They attended Avila University for five years and then went their separate ways promising to keep in touch, which they did. Helga and Rowena had little to no contact during the years of Rowena's marriage. She knew that Rowena had borne a daughter a year the marriage that she had named Helene. Then one day she received a Floo call from Rowena. Her face was tear-stained and her voice kept cracking.

"Helga? Can you come here? I really n-need a friend right now."

"Of course Rowena. What is it?"

"Francis is dead. He was killed on his way home from Essex."

"I'll be right there."

"Thank you."

Helga comforted her in her grief. Then Rowena and her friend Alice and Alice's daughter, Amy, moved into Helga's spacious home. Only five years later they received a letter from Godric informing them that Melissa had died in a house fire along with two of their three sons. The only surviving son was their oldest, Albert. He moved into a house not too far away from Helga's. During this time Salazaar returned from his travels in India. He also moved into Helga's home and slowly the four (soon-to-be) founders' became friends. In the two years it took for them to become very good friends decided to create a school for young wizards and witches in England because Meduseld (their old school) had closed and many British children had to go to schools on the continent. Twenty-eight years after the foursome had graduated they built Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before sending out acceptance letters there was a small argument about whether or not they should accept muggleborn students. Salazaar didn't want to and wanted only to keep it in the old wizarding families. Rowena and Godric both wanted to take the muggleborn students. The decision was left to Helga. She knew what the right choice was and she too decided to accept muggleborn students. So the founders had a small division. It was nothing that could become significant in the years to come, or so they thought. Two years later Alicia Webster, Rowena's friend created four roses from magic. There was one for each of the founders. Just after that she died and her daughter Amy took her place as Rowena's companion.

During the last five years Godric and Rowena had slowly but surely fallen in love. They didn't keep their relationship a secret and three years after the roses were created they married and Helga used her magic to forge their two roses into The Violet Rose. It was also during this time that Helga and Salazaar fell in love. The only people who knew about it besides themselves were Godric and Rowena. They had eight good years together before Helga began noticing that there was something different about Salazaar. Every year he brought up the issue with muggleborns. One night they had an argument about it. He thought she was being naïve about muggleborns. She thought he was being too aggressive about persecuting them. Every year things got worse and finally seventeen years after Hogwarts founding Salazaar left the school. And while there was no more discord between the founders's there was a hole left by Salazaar's disappearance. Three years later under the cover of night he snuck back into Hogwarts and down to the Chamber of Secrets.

"I knew you'd come here."

"Helga! What are you doing here?"

"Come back to us Salazaar. Come back to Hogwarts. Don't continue on this foolish quest to rid the world of muggleborns. It'll kill you."

"They don't belong in our world Helga. It's our job to destroy them. To hunt them down and kill them. They're not natural Helga."

"Yes they are Salazaar."

"No. They aren't. Join me Helga. Join me and together we will be unstoppable!"

"I will not join you! I have to go tell Godric what you are planning. He can stop you."

She made to leave the chamber but he stopped her.

"I can't allow you to do that Helga."

"Try and stop me."

She started walking away when she felt something go through her lower back, near the kidneys. She slowly turned around to see Salazaar with blood staining the blade of his sword. She started to fall forward and he caught her in his arms.

"I'm sorry Helga. I can't risk Godric stopping me."

"He'll stop you anyways." She said weakly

"I love you Helga. I thought you loved me too."

"I did love you. When you were kind and didn't care about blood."

"I'm sorry it came to this, Helga. I do love you."

Salazaar left Hogwarts. Helga died alone in the Chamber of Secrets no one found her body until a day later when Rowena remarked on not having seen her. She and Godric searched the castle until they finally found her.

"Salazaar did this." Godric said.

"The fight." Rowena whispered more to herself than anyone else.

"What?"

"When we graduated from Meduseld she said that all she saw in her future was a school, Hogwarts, a surprising love, Salazaar, a fight and then darkness. She saw her fight with Salazaar and she knew that the darkness followed the fight. I don't think she realized he'd kill her."

"Well let us bring her back up and hold a proper ceremony for her. "

Salazaar showed up to Helga's funeral. It was there that Godric issued his declaration of war upon Salazaar. They fought for three years. The day after Godric relinquished his power to his future heir he and Salazaar killed each other. That was 51 years to the day after they graduated Meduseld.

There it is the prologue to The Gilded Rose. Now do us all a favor and REVIEW! I want to know what you thought of the story. Next chapter will be all scenes between Ginny and Draco that weren't shown in The Violet Rose.


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